BOU AVENUEMorro PeakKicking off a 4-day visit to Alberta's
Jasper National Park, Kathleen Gallagher, Zosia Zgolak and I hiked up
Morro Peak on 7 April 2016. After a long but scenic drive from
Calgary, we stopped briefly at the Parks Canada info centre in Jasper
to check conditions before heading to the northern terminus of
the Overlander Trail (from the north entrance into Jasper, drive about 18
kilometres eastbound on Highway 16). Two separate trailheads here in
close proximity are a potential source of confusion, but taking no chances, we chose to start from the official trailhead which is marked by
an obvious sign board. We hiked along the Overlander Trail briefly before
turning up the signed Morro Peak trail. This trail climbs moderately up
the west ridge of the peak before finishing up on the south side of the
summit. We had absolutely no route-finding issues throughout and even
scrambled off-trail for a bit near the top just to make things
interesting. After a lengthy stay at the summit, we retraced our steps
all the way back to the Overlander Trail without any problems. With some
extra time to kill, we hiked south for about 650 metres along the
Overlander Trail to a scenic viewpoint before turning around. We also
hiked to the unofficial trailhead for extra variety and were pleasantly
surprised to see a herd of bighorn sheep milling about beside the
highway. A short walk along the highway had us back at the official
trailhead, and we subsequently returned to Jasper to check into our
accommodations at the
Bon Homme View. Our evening was highlighted by a
fantastic Mexican dinner complete with live music at
Cafe Mondo which
capped off a most auspicious start for our 4-day visit.

Zosia and Kathleen check out the sign
board at the trailhead.

A clearing along the Overlander Trail
grants this view of Morro Peak. The easiest route ascends the
right skyline ridge.

Roche de Smet sits to the north across
Athabasca River valley.

Zosia and Kathleen spot the sign for
the turnoff to Morro Peak.

Pyramid Mountain peeks over the top of
the Palisades to the southwest.

Kathleen stops to put some moleskin on
her heels with Zosia assisting.

The upper cliffs come into view as
Kathleen and Zosia continue to climb.

Gargoyle Mountain is visible to the
north across some smooth slabs on Morro Peak.

Zosia shows off her scrambling skills.

Kathleen follows Zosia up the slabs.

Kathleen, Zosia and Sonny stand on the 1676-metre summit
of Morro Peak. Behind them is Hawk Mountain.